1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network communication technique connecting a substrate processing apparatus performing prescribed processing on a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask or a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) and a computer with each other through a network.
2. Description of the Background Art
A product such as a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display is manufactured by performing a series of processing such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, formation of an interlayer dielectric film and thermal processing on a substrate. In general, a substrate processing apparatus having a built-in resist coating processing, a built-in development processing unit etc. performs such processing. A transfer robot provided on the substrate processing apparatus successively transfers the substrate to the respective processing units thereby performing the series of processing on the substrate.
Such substrate processing is automatically controlled, and the substrate processing apparatus stores application program data, set information etc. for the automatic control. In other words, the substrate processing apparatus is controlled through the application program according to the contents of the set information.
The set information stored in the substrate processing apparatus includes basic information employed in common for the substrate processing apparatus and information intrinsic to the substrate processing apparatus. While the substrate processing apparatus is essentially controllable by basic information set by default, optimum control cannot be performed with the same set contents due to the set environment or a manufacturing error of the substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, the basic information must be corrected for performing control, and each substrate processing apparatus accumulates this corrected information as intrinsic information.
Therefore, the intrinsic information is information intrinsic to every user and every substrate processing apparatus. In order to return a substrate processing apparatus causing some fault such as a hardware fault and losing accumulated information to the state before the occurrence of the fault, therefore, it is necessary to periodically back up the set information. Also when the user changes the set information in a self-determined manner, past set information may be required. Also in order to operate the substrate processing apparatus with the past set information in this case, it is necessary to periodically back up the set information. In general, the user backs up the set information in a removal disk or the like in each substrate processing apparatus.
However, it is extremely time-consuming to back up the set information of the substrate processing apparatus in the removal disk or the like, leading to a burden on the user. Particularly when a large number of substrate processing apparatuses are set, the backup operation remarkably burdens the user, who in turn awaits improvement.
Further, it is necessary to minimize the interval for backup processing so that the backup data is effective. However, the burden of the backup processing is so heavy that it is impractical to require the user to frequently perform periodic backup processing.
The aforementioned basic information, set in the substrate processing apparatus in an initial stage, consists of an extremely large number of set items. The user or a support staff first sets the basic information in the substrate processing apparatus, thereby operating the substrate processing apparatus according to the basic information. The user further sets intrinsic information in response to the individual substrate processing apparatus. In other words, the user corrects the operation of the substrate processing apparatus set according to the basic information with the intrinsic information thereby performing optimum control.
As hereinabove described, the basic information to be set in the substrate processing apparatus consists of an extremely large number of set items. If the set information is erroneous as to some of the large number of items, the substrate processing apparatus cannot perform planned operation.
When a plurality of staff set basic information in different substrate processing apparatuses respectively in a factory provided with a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses, for example, the set contents of the basic information may vary with the substrate processing apparatuses due to artificial errors. In this case, the same products cannot be produced even if the substrate processing apparatuses execute the same processing.
Also when it is proved that the basic information set in each substrate processing apparatus includes a set error from the results of operation of the substrate processing apparatus, it is extremely difficult to find the erroneous set contents from the large number of set items.
Components forming the aforementioned substrate processing apparatus also include consumables. For example, cleaning brushes provided in a cleaning processing unit for cleaning substrates or lamps provided in a lamp annealing apparatus for rapidly annealing substrates by photoirradiation are typical consumables. Further, belts, cylinders, motors etc. forming a driving mechanism for driving the transfer robot or the like are also consumables.
Such consumables consumed and deteriorated as used become unusable upon remarkable consumption, and hence it is necessary to periodically order new components for exchanging for the consumables.
In general, however, the new components are ordered and procured after the consumables are consumed or broken, and hence it follows that constant time is required up to arrival of the new components to disadvantageously reduce the working efficiency of the apparatus. While it is therefore preferable to manage the lives of the consumables in the substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses are arranged in a single substrate processing factory and remarkable labor is required for managing consumables in all substrate processing apparatuses.
In general, further, a large number of such substrate processing apparatuses are arranged in a single substrate processing factory manufacturing semiconductor devices or the like and operated by a number of operators. Therefore, it is necessary to properly educate experienceless unskilled operators as to the method of manipulating the apparatuses. When specifications etc. of the apparatuses are changed, it is also necessary to lecture skilled operators about the new operating method.
In general, the operators must divide into groups for attending a lecture about the apparatuses repetitively delivered for the groups or gather around only a single substrate processing apparatus for getting a collective explanation thereof.
In this case, however, the lecture must be repeated as to the same contents or not all operators can be sufficiently trained, disadvantageously leading to inefficiency for both users and vendors of the substrate processing apparatuses.